Toronto The Uptown Residences | ?m | 48s | Pemberton | Burka

[casaguy]

Such a sad and sorry finish to this towering beige beast.

They could have given the city an iconic flourish at Yonge and Bloor but instead are giving the citizens the finger with this rushed mess of mediocrity for a crown.

 

[Ramako]

What's with those ridiculous little fin stubs on the roof? It simply looks ridiculous. For me, this tower actively detracts from the area.

 

[SP!RE]

It's very plain, but i don't think it detracts at all. It adds some more (much-needed) urban drama to this (blah) intersection. Not to mention the podium is great and does far more for the area than any weird, faceless, featureless box like CASA's base.

 

[MisterF]

Did I say "cheesy hat"? And it's a hat, whether you've decided it should be there or not - those fins serve no functional purpose. To be honest, I think both designs - hat or no hat - are kind of silly. But that's what happens when you ape older styles - people get bent out of shape trying to tell you when you are being authentic or not.

I'm actually more confused as to why people would think this is a cheapening, when some extra concrete to make these fins would be relatively inexpensive. Maybe they thought they were silly or didn't like them or whatever - it's not clear that this is a cost-based decision at all. It's Burka, after all - they don't always make logical design choices.

Someone else said "cheesy hat", I was responding to a couple of posts but only quoted yours.

 

[maestro]

Uptown's podium doesn't do anything for me. It's a pretty standard affair and the charcoal colour clashes with the light precast above. I don't think you fully appreciate Casa's podium by calling it a featureless box. The glass is just the protective film for the wood work underneath ... a double skin of sorts.

 

[SP!RE]

In a neighbourhood context, yes, CASA's podium is just a glass box and offers nothing. Architecturally it has some points of interest. But it presents a cold, featureless face to the neighbourhood.

 

[yyzer]

In a neighbourhood context, yes, CASA's podium is just a glass box and offers nothing. Architecturally it has some points of interest. But it presents a cold, featureless face to the neighbourhood.

I agree with you SP!RE....all of Clewes' buildings seem have trouble engaging with the street.....too bad, because the rest of Casa is pretty spectacular...

 

[Mongo]

You know, I am starting to think that they are going with the original design after all.

I think that people may be jumping to conclusions that the rooftop element has been "cheapened", based on the status of construction of that element. The fact is that the fins are still being built, as can be seen with the additional panels attached to several of the fins on the right of the photo. It is quite possible (and I think very likely) that these panels will continue to be added until the original design for them has been completed.

If the panels are precast, then it may be infeasible to have each entire fin be one piece. Instead they could be composed of numerous smaller pieces (as seen in the photo), lifted into place one at a time.

 

[Ramako]

I've considered that Mongo, but how would these pieces actually be affixed to the existing fins? There doesn't seem to be any place to fasten them.

 

[Traynor]

^I agree with Ramako. That is a finished surface on the top portion of where the proposed fin would attach (the two additions on the top, on the right). In ongoing construction that would be an unfinished surface with exposed fasteners of some sort.

 

[TOfan696]

I agree with you SP!RE....all of Clewes' buildings seem have trouble engaging with the street.....too bad, because the rest of Casa is pretty spectacular...

So True, viewed from a far his buildings can be quite spectacular, buildings such as Spire, Casa, and especially Murano while they are beautiful offer little to enhance the public realm and are quite dull.

 

[Ramako]

So True, viewed from a far his buildings can be quite spectacular, buildings such as Spire, Casa, and especially Murano while they are beautiful offer little to enhance the public realm and are quite dull.

You can add the Four Seasons to that list. The tower is beautiful but the renderings of the ground level seem very uninviting from the street.

 

[TrickyRicky]

I just think it is great that there are people here who are so interested in discussing the design merits of the tops of buildings. A niche element that 99.9 % of the population will never even look up at, let alone have a passionate opinion on.

 

[Torontovibe]

So True, viewed from a far his buildings can be quite spectacular, buildings such as Spire, Casa, and especially Murano while they are beautiful offer little to enhance the public realm and are quite dull.

Spire is the worst of the bunch. That corner is so dull.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

It's very plain, but i don't think it detracts at all. It adds some more (much-needed) urban drama to this (blah) intersection. Not to mention the podium is great and does far more for the area than any weird, faceless, featureless box like CASA's base.

"...weird, featureless box like CASA's base.", are you kidding? The window wall opens up the lobby for the neighbous and passersby to enjoy, it's a wonderful & engaging feature and a terrific addition to the neighbourhood. Uptown and Blu offer very little at street level except contradictions in an attempt at style.

So True, viewed from a far his buildings can be quite spectacular, buildings such as Spire, Casa, and especially Murano while they are beautiful offer little to enhance the public realm and are quite dull.

Spire and Murano both offer retail along the main streets, what more can they do? Although I don't like the idea of windows or flashing lights being passed off as art components, Murano also offers a good art piece of window wall above the retail area all along Bay Street which looks good by day, but admittedly isn't very successful by night.